Albondigas rellenas en salsa translates to stuffed meatballs in salsa. Imagine the surprised face of your friends and family when they slice that meatball open!
Stop! I am adding this new video today, August 22, 2024!
It had been a minute since I prepared these delicious albondigas rellenas! Here is the scoop! The video recipe is prepared with 2lbs. of ground beef. The dried chiles are 6 Chile New Mexico. 6 Chile Cascabel and 1 TBSP. of chiltepin. You will see in the video that I prepared the sauce a little different. It’s easier all in one pot. there were 5 1/2 cups of water all together and about 4 tbsps. of tomato bouillon. Towards the end, I mixed in about 1 1/2 lbs. of previously prepared nopales. Get the printable recipe at the end!
No Frozen Meatballs Here!
Growing up, the only meatballs I knew were the albondigas in caldo (meatballs in soup). You know the traditional Mexican meatball with rice mixed into the ground beef. That is still one of my top favorite family recipes. I tried frozen meatballs a few times, but I would never trade them for homemade albondigas.
Hard Boiled Eggs?
Hardboiled egg is a traditional stuffing for meatballs in Mexico. I have also used cheese and roasted green chiles in the past. One year, during the holidays I prepared a pastel de carne relleno (stuffed meatloaf). It was stuffed with whole hard-boiled eggs, and it was delicious!
We Love Our Beans and Rice!
I was out of beans on this day, so I went with a simple steamed white rice. Then I decided to mix in some fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro for more flavor. I find myself garnishing my plates with avocado all the time. I just like the look of it and I like eating the avocado too! Lol! If you want to skip the rice to save the guilt of eating carbs, grilled veggies mixed with black beans is one of my favorites. Add a splash of lime, olive oil and seasoning.
Choose Fresh When Possible!
I know it may seem easier to choose a can of tomatoes instead of fresh, but in the end the flavors will tell the story, lol! I am so passionate(dramatic) when it comes to ingredients in my recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I do use canned tomato products when needed, but I will always opt for fresh when possible.
Red Or Green? Red or Green Salsa?
This is the question I ask myself often when it comes to developing a new Mexican recipe. I was almost going to prepare both because I knew the picture would look awesome! Diehard foodie! I opted for red because I had a red chile salsa leftover from another recipe.
Keep It Simple….
Preparing a chile sauce doesn’t have to complicated. In this Pambazo recipe the guajillo salsa is as simple as it gets. It can be used as a base for a variety of recipes. Recipes like this one. You can prepare a large pot of that salsa and store it in the freezer for future recipes.
Albondigas Rellenas en Salsa -Stuffed Meatballs in Salsa
Ingredients
For Albondigas
- 1.25 pounds ground chuck
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 2 large fresh eggs
- 3 hard boiled eggs sliced into quarters
For Salsa
- 3 large roma tomatoes
- 1 small section white onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 serrano pepper
- 2 tablespoon knorr tomato/chicken bouillon
- 1 cup previously prepared red chile salsa
- 3 cups water or low sodium chicken broth see link available on post
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Handful of fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the beef, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 cup cooked rice and 2 large fresh eggs. Stir well to combine.
- Lightly wet the palms of your hands. You will need about 1/3 cup of the beef mixture flattened slightly in the palm of your hand. Place a quarter piece of hard boiled egg in the center. Carefully mold the meat around the egg to cover completely and make round.. Transfer to a baking sheet.
- Once all of the meatballs are filled, place in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
- In a large pot, preheat 2 tablespoons of oil at medium heat.
- In the jar of your blender, add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, serrano, bouillon red chile salsa, 3 cups water(or broth), salt and pepper to taste. Blend on high until very smooth.
- Pour blended salsa into preheated pot with oil. Careful it will pop and boil quickly. Add fresh cilantro. Reduce heat slightly and continue cooking the salsa for 5 minutes. Taste for salt.
- When the salsa is at a steady simmer, carefully add the chilled albondigas. Gently shake the pot so albondigas become immersed into the salsa. The albondigas should be completely immersed under the salsa. Cook at a steady simmer for 10 minutes without disturbing the albondigas. Skim the beef fat off the top as it cooks out.
- After 10 minutes, gently stir the albondigas. Cook for another 10 minutes. Serve three albondigas per shallow bowl with plenty of salsa. Serve with a side of rice or beans, avocado and fresh corn tortillas. Yields 4 servings
Notes
Mexican Style Stuffed Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 large pot
Ingredients
Albondigas
- 2 lbs. ground beef, chuck, sirloin
- 1 1/2 tsps. salt
- 1 1/2 tsps. pepper
- 1 1/2 tsps. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 c uncooked rice
- 2 large eggs
Salsa Roja
- 1 1/2 tbsps. Avocado oil
- 6 large chile New Mexico pods
- 6 large chile cascabel
- 1 tbsp. chiltepin
- 1/2 medium onion, roughly sliced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
- 5 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
- 3 tbsps. tomato bouillon
- 1 1/2 lbs. previously cooked nopales
- 1 tsp. oregano, crushed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 previously cooked hard-boiled eggs, quartered
Instructions
Albondigas
- In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients, minus the hard-boiled eggs. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- When ready, divide the beef into 13 equal portions. Roll each into a ball, then form a thick disc. Take one quarter piece of the hard-boiled egg and place it in the middle of the disc, fold over like a taco and then tuck and roll in your hands until the egg is concealed completely. Repeat until done. Chill until ready to use.
Salsa Roja & Assembly
- Remove the stems and seeds from the chile New Mexico and the cascabel. If they look dusty, rinse them under cool water.
- In a large pot heat 1 1/2 tbsps. of avocado oil at medium. Add all of the dried chiles to the pot with oil. After a minute or two, they should start to sizzle and lightly aromatic. Stir and flip them for the next minute.
- Move the peppers to one side of the pot. Add the onions and garlic, Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauté for another 3 minutes. Pour in 4 cups of water and bring up to a light simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat at let it sit for 20 minutes.
- When ready transfer all the ingredients in the pot to the blender jar. Cover tightly and blend on high until smooth. I use a power blender so there is no need to strain the salsa. If you want a smoother salsa, you can strain it through a wire mesh strainer.
- In a large pot, preheat 1 1/2 tbsps. of avocado oil at medium for a few minutes. Once it's hot, carefully pour in the reserved salsa from the blender jar. Pour in another 1 3/4 cups of water and mix in another tbsp. of tomato bouillon. Bring it up to a simmer and taste for salt and pepper. Season, to taste.
- While the salsa is simmering, carefully drop in the albondigas. Cover the pot with the lid. Reduce heat slightly. Cook for 10-15 minutes without stirring. When ready, gently stir the albondigas. Add the oregano and nopales. Cover once again and continue simmering for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is cooked through. The rice will look puffy. Serve in shallow bowls with plenty of salsa and some nopales. A side of rice is nice and warm corn tortillas of course!
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